Dalberg and iSPIRT in collaboration with Bharat Innovations Fund, Omidyar Network and Unitus Seed Fund launched #BuildOnIndiaStack – a venture pitch competition for early-stage startups, building on top of the India Stack, a set of open APIs released by the Government of India

The competition is open to all innovations that leverage the India Stack to unlock new business models and/or reach previously underserved, new customer segments across diverse sectors such as financial services, education, healthcare and others. Some core focus areas for the competition will also include digital lending and supporting activities, such as alternative credit scoring; sector specific digital services such as health insurance or education loans, skilling and certification, property registration agreements, patient-centric healthcare management; and SaaS platforms “as a service” that support the development of other India Stack based innovations such as Digi-locker or e-sign providers

The startups that will qualify will be in teams of minimum two to maximum four members, including the founder. They will also have to be early stage startups that have received only seed or limited angel funding. Further, they need to meet the three point criteria of being tech-enabled, leveraging India Stack platform and serving the underserved.

Dalberg, a global development consulting firm believes in the potential of India Stack and is spearheading this effort. On this occasion the Partner and Head of Financial Inclusion at Dalberg Advisors, Varad Pande said “We are delighted to partner on this initiative. As a mission-driven strategy-consulting firm, we are constantly looking for platforms that amplify social impact through market-based models. India Stack is exactly that kind of a platform – by transforming transaction-based services across sectors, it will drive innovation and inclusion throughout our economy. This competition is a starting point to support disruptive innovation, especially for the non-affluent ‘Bharat’ consumer.”